Women's national team is mentioned in the article, men's isn't. But hey, if you've read this topic you already know promoting anything involving a Spanish national side in Catalonia isn't that straightforward.

Two big events in Spanish rugby this weekend. Spanish Cup final and U18 National Championship and Trophy:

Copa del Rey final will be held Saturday 16:00 CEST and unfortunately I expect an underwhelming attendance and atmosphere, far from the last few editions. OK, both teams don't enjoy the kind of fanbase Valladolid clubs have and Central stadium hasn't a particular appeal, but at the same time I feel promotion efforts haven't been up to standards. I hope I'm wrong...

U18 marks a new entry record, as we've got the usual 8 teams in Championship selected according to their performances in regional leagues during the season and a further 22 registered in Trophy. Overall, 30 teams from 30 different clubs, up from 22 teams from 20 clubs last year. It will probably be the only record in underage categories since caps have been introduced this season.

Quite interesting event last Friday in Madrid as a prologue of Copa del Rey final. Like it was done before Bilbao EPCR finals, a series of discussion panels were held and the first of them involved FER president Alfonso Feijóo...

Among other things he said FER currently has a 200,000€ surplus and once again explained that he tried to bring forward a project of Iberian League involving 6 Spanish sides and 2 Portuguese teams but found rejection from clubs. Literally he claims he told presidents from Spanish clubs that "you are happy enough by being champion from your hallway". Feijoo confirmed as well that they are talking to Barbarians to play next November. He also asked for a bit of patience regarding our U20 and U18 teams and their transition to seniors, which sounded a bit weird.

From noon on we have got both Liga Heineken quarterfinals (Alcobendas-Barça again and Ordizia-UBU-Colina Clinic) and the second game of promotion semifinals. All are streamed:http://www.ferugby.es/index_dh1.php

In the first round of promotion semifinals Bathco beat Liceo away 34-47 and Getxo won against Ciencias Sevilla 24-13.

Liga Heineken 2018/19 - QuarterfinalsSanitas Alcobendas 34 - 20 Barça Rugbi (TMO was an embarrassment, either we increase the number of cameras and referees are duly taught or we ditch it)Ampo Ordizia 38 - 31 UBU-Colina Clinic (not as close as the scoreboard suggests, Burgos team was clearly overcooked and thinking about the off-season)

Semifinals will be SilverStorm El Salvador-Ampo Ordizia and VRAC Quesos Entrepinares-Sanitas Alcobendas. Both in Valladolid.

Bathco with their almost pro squad has won QF and SF pretty easily whereas Ciencias struggled. But for the good of Spanish rugby I hope the latter win the final. It would be a Liga Heineken team in the south, a big city and academy represented and a better home field than what Bathco can currently offer.

--

On a sidenote, this means Basque Country will only have 2 teams in Liga Heineken next season. The last time this happened was 15 years ago, with only 10 clubs in the top-tier. They keep producing good players and proximity to French border helps but player numbers have stagnated and their clubs mostly based in tiny villages will face increasing challenges in the next few years. The fact that Ordizia and Hernani (10,000 and 20,000 inhabitants each) resist is incredible, especially Hernani given their amateur focus. Let's see how Bera Bera (San Sebastián), Universitario de Bilbao or Getxo (near Bilbao) evolve, because they have achieved good results in junior categories and they must be the future of Basque rugby.

Although I had already been to Valladolid back in 2016 for the sellout in Copa del Rey final, yesterday I visited for the first time Pepe Rojo, the facilities where Valladolid rugby usually take place since it's the home of both VRAC and El Salvador. And to say it's impressive is an understatement. It reminded me of Heidelberg (I had been there for non-rugby reasons) because like there it's a number of rugby pitches located in the outskirts of the city, they don't look that important. But once there you find 6 pitches, 8 locker rooms, 2 media rooms (just opened the second one), a brand new bigger gym, a control tower for TV, radio and staff members... It oozes rugby and people is extremely dedicated, you see entire families fulfilling roles within their clubs. Structure may not be fully pro, but it is as big as in any Tier 1 club.

Since it's owned by town hall, there are almost no signs showing which room is for which team, but they have been for so long there that everybody knows where they must go or where their fans must seat. Even advertising banners switch every year so sponsors get the same visibility. It isn't a pretty place, it wasn't properly planned and each mayor has progressively expanded it without everything making too much sense, but it is still able to hold both Liga Heineken semifinals and U16 Spanish Championship (55 teams) over the same weekend without too many issues. By the way, there was personnel from foreign clubs following and scouting the latter...

The main regret right now is probably the lack of a mid-sized venue closer to the city. Zorrilla is probably too big to take there every single big game and football club will always be its main tenant (in fact they are even trying to take over its ownership), but Pepe Rojo is badly communicated, without decent public transport and lacking visibility to the general public...